Sunday the 8th of April marked the end of the 8th European Chess Championship. Vladislav Tkachiev triumphed in the men’s division and Tatiana Kosintseva topped the women’s competition. Both players have certainly led interesting lives.

But today we will focus our attention on Tkachiev. He was born on November 9, 1973, in Moscow, but he did not live there long. When he was nine, he and his family moved to Kazakhstan, where he learned to play chess. Once Tkachiev grasped chess’ rules, the ex‑Russian began his run of successes.

Soon thereafter, Tkachiev went on to become Kazakh Junior Champion. By 1992,  he was playing for the Kazakh Olympic team. We can say that Kazakhstan made him the great champion he is, but as many other chess players from the former Soviet Union, he decided to leave his adopted country. In 1995, two years after becoming a Grandmaster, Tkachiev emigrated to France, where he lives today and has achieved his major victories.

The eighth European champion is what I call a multinational master. He was born in Russia, but moved to Kazakhstan, where he played with the national team. Then he moved again, this time to France, where he also played for the national team. These acts make Tkachiev one of the few players who can say that has played under two national flags.

Chess is not the only field where this happens. A lot of top professionals from the former Soviet Union leave their countries in order to find a better standard of living, and this can be said of many chess players. Although sad in a way, it also makes European competitions much more interesting as these talented players raise the level of chess in Europe.

Next week we will talk about Tatiana Kosintseva, the women’s champion. Also from Russia, she decided to stay, as did Vladimir Potkin, the Grandmaster who succumbed in the 6th round of the tournament against Tkachiev. Here is their interesting match.